khortlan becton
(she/her)
Khortlan Becton is passionate about God and God’s creation, justice, athletics, and the arts! Since she could walk, she has been a scholar-athlete. She balanced her voracious appetite for learning with a healthy love of sports. In her youth, she earned a Black Belt in TaeKwonDo. Khortlan also excelled at the shot put and discus field events. Notably, she placed 7th in the Girl’s Discus Throw at the 2006 AAU National Junior Olympic Games. She also set the middle school records for both the shot put (36’8”) and discus (95’6”) events at St. John’s School in Houston, Texas.
Ministry has played a key role in Khortlan’s formative life. Khortlan’s parents ensured that she learn about God and serve as an active member in the church’s children and youth ministries. Undoubtedly, her service as an acolyte, praise dancer, choir member, VBS volunteer, and announcement broadcaster sparked her passion and love for serving God’s people.
In high school and college, Khortlan focused primarily on academics and the arts. She sang Alto for multiple years in the Lamar Chorale, Lamar High School’s mixed choral ensemble of Intermediate to Advanced students who can competitively Sight-read at a varsity level. As a National Achievement Scholar, Khortlan received a generous scholarship to pursue her studies at The University of Alabama. At UA, Khortlan graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in religious studies and African American studies. As she learned more about systems of power and the history of racism in America, she dedicated her extracurricular time to teaching and advocating for justice on-campus.
Khortlan also has experience with curriculum development and in-class instruction. As an undergrad, she worked with her now partner, Steven Becton, to create and teach Deconstructing the Myth of Absence, a curriculum aimed at improving BIPOC students’ self-image and academic achievement. Khortlan and Steven initially taught their two-week course to over 200 middle school students at Francis Marion Middle School, located in Alabama’s segregated Blackbelt region. The two later offered semester-long iterations of the course to fellow college students in the UA Honors College. Outside of the classroom, Khortlan worked to hold the university accountable to all its students by organizing protests for the integration of the Panhellenic sorority system and for the university’s investment in DEI services and initiatives, respectively.
Khortlan pursued graduate studies and received the Kelly Miller Smith endowed scholarship to enroll in Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Theological Studies program. VDS afforded Khortlan unique opportunities to explore intersections of justice, theology, and creativity with eclectic, yet like-minded people. As a Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative Fellow, Khortlan co-established The Commuter Collective, a joint program with Nashville Freedom Schools to publicize a mural of BIPOC students’ vision of the quickly gentrifying city. Khortlan also tried her hand at performing her poetry around Nashville, and, in doing so, rekindled her love for the creative arts.
After graduating from VDS, Khortlan received a Beasley scholarship to study at Temple Law School. During her studies, Khortlan became interested in the rising issue of algorithmic bias. Khortlan lead authored a literature review of seminal law review articles and papers on algorithmic bias that Prof. Erika Douglas presented at the Spring 2022 ABA Antitrust Meeting.
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